MSI: SLI Plus Eight

Basic Features

MSI K8N Diamond Plus Specifications
CPU Interface	939-Pin Socket supporting AMD Athlon 64 / 64FX / 64X2
Chipset	NVIDIA C51D - North Bridge NVIDIA nForce4 SLI - South Bridge
HTT Speeds	200MHz ~ 450MHz in 0.5MHz increments up to 210HTT, 1MHz increments up to 450HTT
CPU Clock Multiplier	Auto, 5x ~ 25x in 1x increments (maximum multiplier dependent upon processor utilized)
Memory Speeds	Fixed Dividers - 1/1, 1/2, 2/3, 5/4, 5/6
PCI Bus Speeds	Fixed at 33.33MHz
PCI Express Bus Speeds	100.00MHz ~ 148.4375MHz, various increments
LDT Multipliers	Auto LDT to NB, 200MHz, 400MHZ, 600MHz, 800MHz, 1GHz - LDT to NB, NB to SB, SB to NB
LDT Link Speed	8-bit, 16-bit
Core Voltage	Startup, 0.800V ~ 1.400V, in .025 increments, Vcore Adjustment +.05V ~ .75mV in .05V increments
DRAM Voltage	2.65V ~ 3.20V, auxiliary switch for 3.35V~4.10V, .05V increments
Memory Slots	(4) x DIMM, max. 4GB, DDR 400/333/266, non-ECC, un- buffered memory, Dual Channel Operation supported.
Expansion Slots	(2) x PCI-E x16 (each slot operates in 1x16 mode in SLI) (2) x PCI-E x1 (1) x PCI-E x4 (2) x PCI 2.3
Onboard SATA	NVIDIA nForce4: (4) x SATA 3Gb/s Silicon Image - SiL3132: (2) x SATA 3Gb/s (NCQ, Hot Plug)
Onboard IDE	NVIDIA nForce4: (2) x UltraDMA 133/100/66/33
SATA/IDE RAID	NVIDIA nForce4: (4) x SATA 3Gb/s - RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 0+1, RAID 5 SiL3112: (2) x SATA 3Gb/s - RAID 0, RAID 1
Onboard USB2.0	(10) USB2.0 ports (four I/O panel ports, three board headers for six more ports)
Onboard LAN	Marvell 88E1115 PCI Gigabit Ethernet PHY Marvell 88E8053 PCI-E Gigabit LAN Controller
Onboard Audio	Sound Blaster Audigy SE, 8-channel HD audio
Onboard Firewire	VIA VT6306 IEEE 1394 chipset - 1394A capable
Power Connectors	24-pin ATX 8-pin ATX 12V 4-pin 12V (required for SLI or dual card operation)
Back Panel I/O Ports	1 x PS/2 Keyboard 1 x PS/2 Mouse 1 x Audio I/O Panel 2 x RJ45 LAN 4 x USB 2.0 1 x Serial Port 1 x Parallel Port 1 x IEEE 1394 Port 1 x S/PDIF Coaxial Out 1x S/PDIF Optical Out - TOS Link
Other Features	DigiCell- Inclusive Monitoring / Configuration Program Live Update - Windows based driver/bios update utility Core Center - Windows based Monitoring / Overclocking Utility Mega Stick - MSI MP3 Program I-Speeder - Network Monitoring Utility CoreCell- Dynamic Overclocking
BIOS	AMI 3.0a (3/21/06)

The MSI K8N Diamond Plus is an upper-price ranged performance board targeted towards the AMD enthusiast user. The board ships with an extensive accessory package that includes rounded IDE cables, SATA cables, power connectors, SLI bridge card, Firewire backplate, and a 2 USB port/Diagnostic LED backplate. MSI also includes an extensive utility CD and documentation package.



Checking out the BIOS, the Cell Menu section is where most users will spend the majority of their time tweaking this board. While the selection of BIOS options is not as extensive as a DFI board, they are quite numerous and target the enthusiast user. The BIOS allows for CPU voltages up to 2.15V with the additional CPU voltage adjustment along with HTT bus speeds from 200 to 450 MHz. CPU ratios from 5x to 25x are also offered depending upon your CPU type, and the HTT multipliers for the NB and SB links can be independently set from 1X-5X.





The Memory Configuration section allows the user to control memory timing adjustments and dividers. The amount of manual settings available is impressive and without a thorough understanding of each setting, your board could be tuned incorrectly or left inoperable until the BIOS recovery system comes to the rescue. The BIOS allows for Auto settings that will determine the best timing attributes based upon memory type, divider, and bus speeds. We found in our testing the Auto setting would typically adjust the memory clock settings correctly if not a bit relaxed at times. Memory voltage settings are offered up to 3.20V and if you want to void the warranty on the board, MSI provides a switch block that will allow a voltage range from 3.35V to 4.10V.



The D.O.T. Control Function section allows the user to automatically set an overclocking level and then let the system worry about managing the various HTT, CPU, and RAM settings. The system provides for six different dynamic overclocking modes with percentages ranging from 1% to 15%. The BIOS also allows the same settings to be applied to certain NV40 based graphics cards. As a rule, all of these settings are disabled by default.



The PC Health Status section offers the ability to control fan speeds automatically. The BIOS allows the user to set temperature and fan speed targets for the Northbridge and CPU fans, though control and monitoring of the board's chassis fan headers absent. Unlike the BIOS settings from Abit, the MSI BIOS is lacking fan failure notification, automatic temperature-based shutdown settings, and low-RPM alarms.



MSI ships several applications with their board with the most interesting yet disappointing one being the Core Center application. Although advertised as an overclocking utility that one would find very useful, it can only adjust the Dynamic Overclocking settings along with certain voltage settings. The application in essence is a temperature and fan monitoring software utility with limited abilities to change BIOS level settings. However, unlike the BIOS, the user can set fan speed and temperature level alarm conditions for the CPU and Northbridge fans - assuming of course that you're willing to always have Core Center running in the background.